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Pound sterling depreciation in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum in June 2016 has had significant impacts on UK-EU trade flows.

Despite still high growth rates the sector is facing a challenging economic environment, with fiercer competition and oversupplies in some segments.

A deterioration of trade relations with China could negatively affect the ICT component supply side and confront US end-consumers with higher sales prices.

While many Japanese ICT businesses are highly indebted, companies obtain finance easily as banks are very willing to lend and interest rates are low.

Despite continued sales growth, most German ICT businesses operate on very tight margins due to fierce competition and price erosion in most subsectors.

Payment experience over the past two years has been good in the ICT sector and the level of insolvencies is low, with no major change expected in 2018.

Despite overall growth, many French ICT companies face structurally low margins, price pressure and an on-going consolidation process in the market.

While Dutch ICT distributors are becoming larger, many smaller companies are changing their business model to have a more service-oriented approach.

Despite robust growth rates, pricing pressure and cheap imports are key challenges in the domestic ICT market, especially for smaller IT distributors.

Due to limited organic growth opportunities and the on-going economic uncertainty, market players strive to expand through acquisitions and specialisation.

Payment behaviour in the ICT sector has been good over the past two years, and the number of payment delays and insolvencies is expected to remain low.

Despite minor improvements, the impact of late payments cannot be denied and businesses in Asia Pacific need more time to convert B2B invoices into cash.

In 2018, respondents in Australia reported a steep increase in DSO and the need for more time to convert B2B invoices into cash.

Payment delays have remained largely stable and payment duration improved. Bankruptcy and failed collection attempts remain top reasons for write-offs.

Despite improvements, the proportion of overdue B2B invoices and that of uncollectable B2B receivables in Hong Kong remain some of the highest in Asia Pacific.

2018 brought many changes in India – more frequent payment delays, increases in the proportion of overdue B2B invoices and DSO, a longer payment duration.

In 2018, respondents in Indonesia reported an increase in the frequency of late payment and a significant increase in overdue B2B invoices.

In 2018, respondents in Japan reported an increase in overdue B2B invoices and a longer time to convert B2B invoices into cash.

Despite improvements, the vast majority of respondents in Singapore reported frequent late payments by their B2B customers.

Changes in the average payment terms and payment delays brought an increase in Taiwan’s average payment duration which is the second highest in the region.